French CEO's Taste for America
Is Hard to Swallow Back Home

By

John Carreyrou Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated March 18, 2002 12:01 a.m. ET

PARIS -- A satirical puppet show on French TV called "Les Guignols" recently showed a skit of Jean-Marie Messier, chairman of Vivendi Universal SA, in his New York office bantering with a fellow Frenchman. Asked whether he was homesick, Mr. Messier replied in broken French: "Yeah, New York can get you down sometimes. I want to go back home -- to Los Angeles."

In his quest to become a media mogul, Mr. Messier moved to New York in September after Vivendi bought Seagram Co. and became the owner of...